Author Topic: Soyuz-2.1b - Pion-NKS №1 - Plesetsk 43/4 - 25 June 2021 - 19:50 UTC (Read 20147 times)

Stan Black · « **on:** 01/30/2015 07:18 am »

14К160
Payload: Pion-NKS 14Ф139 № 901 (part of Liana)
Rocket: Soyuz-2-1B 14А14-1Б
Launch site: Plesetsk 17П32-С4 (ПУ № 43/4)
Fairing: 14С741
Manufacturer: Machine-Building Plant Arsenal (prime), Rocket & Space Centre Progress (orbital module)
Mass: 6,500 kilogrammes
Orbit: 500 kilometres, 67° inclination

Picture here:-
http://www.kbarsenal.ru/images/plakat/cosmos/31.jpg
***

zubenelgenubi edit: As a payload for the Russian Ministry of Defence, the satellite will receive a Kosmos designation upon successful launch.

Stan Black · « **Reply #1 on:** 01/30/2015 07:27 am »

Tender issued for insurance to cover transportation of the orbital module from RKTs-Progress in Samara to MZ Arsenal in Saint Petersburg.

http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?noticeId=2005623

Direct link to document:-
http://www.zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/download/download.html?id=11277218

The value of the orbital module is 1,133,872,692·47 Russian ruble, manufactured under contract №01078/2953-1 dated 30th November 2007.

Stan Black · « **Reply #2 on:** 03/01/2015 02:25 pm »

Quote from: Nicolas PILLET on 03/01/2015 09:59 am

I have the plan for all the Soyuz launches from Baikonur and Plesetsk for the next two years :
XX.12.2015 - Soyuz-2.1b - Plesetsk 43/4 - Pion n°901

Phillip Clark · « **Reply #3 on:** 03/22/2015 04:23 pm »

Just been playing with some numbers for a 67 deg inclination, ~500 km orbit. You get a 15 circuit repeater when the period is 94.94 minutes, circular orbit altitude 516 km.

Stan Black · « **Reply #4 on:** 02/28/2016 10:07 am »

Notice in Anik’s serial numbers 77069203/38М136С listed under fairing 14С741. So is that the serial number of the rocket too?
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36777.msg1493825#msg1493825

Phillip Clark · « **Reply #5 on:** 02/28/2016 11:20 am »

I hesitate to ask if we have an approximate launch schedule yet? Supposed to be the end of 2015, but silence.

Stan Black · « **Reply #6 on:** 11/03/2017 08:22 pm »

Quote from: B. Hendrickx on 09/27/2017 09:28 pm

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 09/27/2017 06:06 pm
One option would be the Pion NKS satellite.

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/liana.html
(at the end of the article)

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/pion-nks.htm

According to posts by a KB Arsenal insider on the NK forum, Pion NKS is unlikely to fly any time soon. The bus is apparently ready, but the spacecraft has been waiting for its SIGINT payload for four years. The payload is to be delivered by TsNIRTI, which has developed all SIGINT payloads since the 1960s.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense has signed a contract with Arsenal to build a modified version of Lotos-S called Lotos-M. According to the same insider this will basically be a Lotos-S without Western-built electronic components (because of the sanctions). However, Lotos-M so far only exists on paper, so it can't be the payload for the October launch either. I've also seen no indications that a third Lotos-S is being prepared for launch.

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #7 on:** 09/08/2019 02:15 am »

Update from the thread Plan of Russian Space Launches (part 2):

Launch scheduled for late 2019.

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #8 on:** 12/17/2019 10:05 pm »

Cross-post:

Quote from: anik on 12/16/2019 12:38 pm

Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 12/15/2019 08:57 pm
Will there be any more orbital launches, other than 1 Proton and the last Rokot, before the New Year's and Russian Orthodox Christmas holidays?

Rogozin said 3 launches including launch from CSG obviously.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #9 on:** 12/18/2019 08:37 pm »

Pion-NKS may have to be ruled out as a candidate for the late January Plesetsk launch. In late November information appeared on Russia's government procurement website about a contract to replace pyrotechnic devices aboard the satellite (referred to as 14F139 nr. 901). It's not quite clear though from the documentation if this work has already been finished or still needs to be done.

https://zakupki.gov.ru/223/purchase/public/purchase/info/common-info.html?regNumber=31908565677

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #10 on:** 01/28/2021 08:10 am »

Cross-post:

Quote from: Salo on 01/28/2021 05:42 am

Pion-NKS №901 - 02.02.2021

An interesting development!
If the launch is successful, this satellite should become Kosmos 2549.

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #11 on:** 01/28/2021 08:12 am »

2 февраля - Космос (14Ф139 Пион-НКС №901) - Союз-2-1Б - Плесецк 43/?

Februry 2 Kosmos 14F139 Pion NKS No. 901 - Soyuz 2-1B Plesetsk 43/?

https://forum.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/index.php?topic=16307.msg2117280#msg2117280

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #12 on:** 01/28/2021 08:38 am »

Quote from: Stan Black on 02/28/2016 10:07 am

Notice in Anik’s serial numbers 77069203/38М136С listed under fairing 14С741. So is that the serial number of the rocket too?
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36777.msg1493825#msg1493825

This Soyuz was used in the meantime for Kosmos 2524 (Lotos 3).

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #13 on:** 01/28/2021 09:11 am »

The source for this information appears to be a Plesetsk insider who posted on the NK forum yesterday that something is going to be launched from Plesetsk on February 2. He didn't give the name of the payload, saying only that it's "like a flower". "Pion" is the Russian word for a flower called "peony" and that apparently led to the conclusion that the payload must be Pion-NKS. He may also have been referring to the satellite's radar antennas, which look a bit like flowers. Anyway, it's an interesting scamgraphic way of revealing the nature of a military payload.

Incidentally, Pion's sister satellite Lotos-S is also named after a flower ("lotus") (and "Liana", the overall project name, refers to the woody climbing plants that hang from trees). However, there doesn't seem to be another Lotos-S planned for the near future and Defense Minister Shoigu said last March that Pion-NKS was getting close to launch. This satellite has been grounded for many years due to technical issues, some of them most likely having to do with the Western sanctions that have hampered the import of electronic components.

Stan Black · « **Reply #14 on:** 01/28/2021 11:44 am »

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 01/28/2021 08:38 am

Quote from: Stan Black on 02/28/2016 10:07 am
Notice in Anik’s serial numbers 77069203/38М136С listed under fairing 14С741. So is that the serial number of the rocket too?
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=36777.msg1493825#msg1493825
This Soyuz was used in the meantime for Kosmos 2524 (Lotos 3).

There is also fairing 14С741 15/133, so that was probably the original rocket.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #15 on:** 01/28/2021 09:16 pm »

Responding to speculation that the payload is Pion-NKS, the Plesetsk insider is now saying on the NK forum that "they're training with another flower, one that's already been [flown]". That most likely means the payload is a Lotos-S1 ELINT satellite. Lotos (also named after a flower) uses the same bus as Pion-NKS, so what he probably means is that flying Lotos is a good dress rehearsal for flying Pion-NKS.

So far four Lotos satellites have been launched (serial nrs. 801, 802, 803, 804). A fifth satellite (14F145 nr. 805) is mentioned in some court documentation. It was ordered together with nr. 804 under a contract signed between the Ministry of Defense and the Arsenal Machine Building Factory on September 1, 2014. See for instance here:

https://kad.arbitr.ru/Document/Pdf/1ef5359a-af16-4f69-97e5-af41225bae90/3d30fa30-3f77-4cfc-bac3-ce75810d9d68/A56-99136-2019_20200228_Reshenie.pdf?isAddStamp=True

It looks very much like this is the satellite that will be going up next week.

Meanwhile, TASS has confirmed the February 2 launch date, adding that February 3 is the back-up launch date:
https://tass.ru/kosmos/10570665

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #16 on:** 01/29/2021 01:32 am »

Lotos-S No. 5 = Lotos-S1 No. 4 launch thread

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #17 on:** 02/11/2021 09:15 am »

Documentation published in the middle of last year shows that environmental testing of Pion-NKS's radar system was still to be completed at that time.

https://zakupki.gov.ru/223/contract/public/contract/view/general-information.html?style44=false&id=9771601

The radar system (designated 11V521) is provided by the Vega Concern in Moscow and has been under development since early this century. It seems to have been primarily responsible for the seemingly endless delays that Pion-NKS has suffered. Last May, Vega signed a contract for environmental testing of the radar with NPO Mashinostroyeniya (NPOMash, the former Chelomei design bureau) in Reutov outside Moscow. NPOMash has no direct involvement in Pion, but it has a big thermal vacuum chamber where these tests can be conducted. Presumably, the same chamber is used for environmental testing of the radars used by NPOMash's own Kondor satellites (these radars are also built by Vega).

The environmental tests of the Pion-NKS radar were supposed to take about two months, so they were probably finished no earlier than last summer, after which the radar needed to be shipped to the satellite manufacturer in St.-Petersburg for integration with the satellite. The satellite is manufactured by the Arsenal Machine Building Factory (MZ Arsenal), the production facility aligned with the KB Arsenal design bureau. MZ Arsenal also integrates the Lotos-S1 satellites, which use the same bus as Pion-NKS. The bus in turn is provided by the Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara. It is essentially the same bus that Progress used for its Resurs-DK remote sensing satellite.

All this could suggest that the launch of Pion-NKS is still some way off, but there is at least one indication that this may not the case. Last December, KB Arsenal signed a contract with a transportation company for transportation services at Plesetsk that seem to be related to this launch:

https://zakupki.gov.ru/223/contract/public/contract/view/general-information.html?style44=false&id=10408862

Pion-NKS is not mentioned by name in the documentation, but it refers back to the 1993 government contract that started the Liana project and one of the files is named "product 901" ("901" is the serial number of Pion-NKS). No specific dates are mentioned for the transportation services, but one can assume KB Arsenal wouldn't be signing such a contract if they weren't needed in the following weeks or months.

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #18 on:** 03/07/2021 04:27 pm »

Cross-post:

Quote from: Salo on 03/07/2021 03:02 pm

https://iz.ru/1133265/anton-lavrov/dotianulas-do-kosmosa-zavershaetsia-sozdanie-sistemy-razvedki-liana
Google translate:
Quote
This year we can expect the launch of the first Pion-NKS satellite. It is already undergoing ground tests.

Where would these ground tests occur?

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #19 on:** 03/07/2021 08:55 pm »

Quote from: zubenelgenubi on 03/07/2021 04:27 pm

Cross-post:
Quote from: Salo on 03/07/2021 03:02 pm
https://iz.ru/1133265/anton-lavrov/dotianulas-do-kosmosa-zavershaetsia-sozdanie-sistemy-razvedki-liana
Google translate:
Quote
This year we can expect the launch of the first Pion-NKS satellite. It is already undergoing ground tests.
Where would these ground tests occur?

Either Pion-NKS is still at the manufacturer (the Arsenal Machine Building Factory in St.-Petersburg) or it has been shipped to Plesetsk. See the previous post for the latest available information.

The only new information in the Izvestia article quoted here is that according to the newspaper's sources in the Ministry of Defense the deployment of the Liana constellation and "several other of its elements" (presumably ground-based systems) is expected to be completed this year. Some inaccuracies in it as well, such as the claim that all five Lotos satellites launched so far are still operational (in reality two or three at best).

Actually, it is doubtful that Liana will ever be fully completed. The full constellation was supposed to consist of two operational Lotos and two operational Pion satellites, but there are no indications from available procurement and court documentation that a second Pion satellite is even under construction. On the other hand, four more Lotos satellites were ordered in 2017 and we can expect to see those appear in orbit in the coming years.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #20 on:** 06/17/2021 06:53 pm »

Anatoly Zak reports that a Soyuz-2 is to launch a military payload from Plesetsk on June 25.
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/2021.html

Meanwhile, a Plesetsk insider gave a hint on the "Novosti kosmonavtiki' forum today that the launch of the long-delayed Pion is imminent, so this this looks like the payload for this mission.

More background on Pion in this article on The Space Review:
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4154/1

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #21 on:** 06/17/2021 10:00 pm »

https://tass.ru/kosmos/11682627

TASS confirms that a military Soyuz launch is planned from Plesetsk on June 25. Back-up dates are June 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30. One of the drop zones is in the north of the Komi republic, which is consistent with a launch into a 67° inclination orbit that would be expected for Pion (same inclination as the Lotos satellites that are also part of the Liana constellation).

input~2 · « **Reply #22 on:** 06/21/2021 01:42 pm »

X4517/21 - FLW ATS RTE SEGMENTS CLSD:
P988 LAPIG - RUPAD
T825 GISUS - RUPAD
W784 GENSU - TODSA
W785 OTNUK - KUTOB
M131 ROGIS - NAKIR
P35 DIDAG - ABOKI
T761 AMEDO - ROGIS
N746 DESEP - SUBEP
T754 BILMI - GIGES
T761 SUBEP - BILMI
T765 LIDLA - DESEP
T793 BILMI - ATGOR
T821 BILMI - NAREK
W152 BILMI - PERAG. SFC - UNL, DAILY 1900-2100, 25 JUN 19:00 2021 UNTIL 30 JUN
21:00 2021. CREATED: 21 JUN 06:23 2021

Z4693/21 - FLW ATS RTE CLSD WI SEGMENTS:
G497 RODKA - GUDIR
G498 LUKAT - GUDIR
N990 REFRI - BEMOS
T816 TOMRA - NOROT
W255 UNOKI - GUDIR
W257 KULAP - BAGEN
W260 BIMSA - REFRI. SFC - UNL, DAILY 1900-2100, 25 JUN 19:00 2021 UNTIL 30 JUN
21:00 2021. CREATED: 21 JUN 06:17 2021

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #23 on:** 06/22/2021 02:53 pm »

The launcher should be on the launch pad.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #24 on:** 06/23/2021 03:59 pm »

According to the Plesetsk insider on the NK forum, the launch is scheduled for 22.50 Moscow time (19:50 UTC). He confirms that the payload is 14F139 (=Pion). Weather outlook is good.

Blackstar · « **Reply #25 on:** 06/25/2021 01:24 pm »

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/pion.html

Magic · « **Reply #26 on:** 06/25/2021 01:45 pm »

To use the Kosmos moniker?

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #27 on:** 06/25/2021 06:04 pm »

Quote from: Magic on 06/25/2021 01:45 pm

To use the Kosmos moniker?

The Lotos satellites got "Cosmos" designation.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #28 on:** 06/25/2021 08:02 pm »

A couple of posts on the NK forum suggest liftoff has taken place. Apparently long-distance observations, not from Plesetsk itself. End of a 28-year countdown for Pion, initially approved in 1993...

Salo · « **Reply #29 on:** 06/25/2021 08:05 pm »

https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=552363&lang=RU
Google translate:

Quote

Moscow. June 25. INTERFAX - A combat crew of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces has successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
"On Friday, June 25, at 22:50 Moscow time, from the launcher (PU) No. 4 of the site No. 43 of the State Test Cosmodrome of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Plesetsk Cosmodrome) in the Arkhangelsk Region, the combat crew of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces launched a launch vehicle "Soyuz-2.1b" with a new generation spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense ", - noted in the military department.
As specified in the Ministry of Defense, all prelaunch operations and the launch of the Soyuz-2.1b space rocket took place in the normal mode. "The ground assets of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces monitored the launch and flight of the carrier rocket," the ministry added.
This is the second launch of the Soyuz-2 medium-class launch vehicle from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in 2021. The previous one was successfully carried out from the northern cosmodrome on February 2, 2021.
Flight tests of the Soyuz-2 space rocket complex began at the Plesetsk cosmodrome on November 8, 2004. Over the past sixteen years, 46 launches of medium-class Soyuz-2 carrier rockets 1A and 1B, as well as 6 launches of Soyuz-2 carrier rockets of light class of modernization stage 1 V.

Salo · « **Reply #30 on:** 06/25/2021 08:08 pm »

Liftoff 19:50:00.241

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #31 on:** 06/25/2021 08:56 pm »

https://www.militarynews.ru/story.asp?rid=1&nid=552369&lang=RU
Announced as Kosmos-2550.

First amateur videos of the launch showing up on YouTube. This was taken from Kirov, about 700 km southeast of Plesetsk.

zubenelgenubi · « **Reply #32 on:** 06/26/2021 01:27 am »

NSF article!
https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1408519785961373698

SciNews · « **Reply #33 on:** 06/26/2021 06:33 am »

Kosmos-2550 launch

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #34 on:** 06/26/2021 07:21 am »

195 x 466 km x 67.1 deg orbit

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1408602141745426437

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #35 on:** 06/26/2021 07:24 am »

Another launch video

https://tvzvezda.ru/news/2021626313-RXs0n.html

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #36 on:** 06/26/2021 07:53 am »

2021-056A 67.14° 91.13 min 195 x 465 km

Conexion Espacial · « **Reply #37 on:** 06/26/2021 12:39 pm »

The satellite serial number given by Roscosmos is "Kosmos-2550".
https://www.roscosmos.ru/31645/
YouTube link in the above article:

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #38 on:** 06/29/2021 01:27 pm »

Jun 29:
67.13° 93.68 min 447x462 km

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #39 on:** 06/29/2021 03:34 pm »

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 06/29/2021 01:27 pm

Jun 29:
67.13° 93.68 min 447x462 km

It's in a much lower orbit than the Lotos satellites, which circle the Earth at an altitude of about 900 km. This must be to allow the radar to obtain the best possible images. There was a somewhat similar pattern in the Soviet-era Legenda ocean surveillance system: the "active" nuclear-powered radar observation satellites (US-A) and the "passive" electronic ocean intelligence satellites (US-P) had the same inclination, but the US-A satellites flew at a mean altitude of 255 km and the US-P satellites at a mean altitude of 435 km. It will be interesting to see if there is any correlation between the orbits of Pion and the still active Lotos satellites to ensure maximum coverage.

Nicolas PILLET · « **Reply #40 on:** 06/29/2021 07:39 pm »

According to KB Arsenal data, Lotos has a mass of 7030 kg and Pion-NKS has a mass of 7231 kg. It can explain the lower orbit, because the Soyuz-2.1b launcher must be used at his extreme limit.

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #41 on:** 06/30/2021 06:16 pm »

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 06/29/2021 01:27 pm

Jun 29:
67.13° 93.68 min 447x462 km

67.14° 93.91 min 462x469 km

Alter Sachse · « **Reply #42 on:** 07/16/2021 05:16 pm »

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 06/30/2021 06:16 pm

Quote from: Alter Sachse on 06/29/2021 01:27 pm
Jun 29:
67.13° 93.68 min 447x462 km
67.14° 93.91 min 462x469 km

67.14° 93.89 min 459x470 km

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #43 on:** 08/03/2021 09:45 pm »

A drawing of Pion showing the satellite shortly after orbit insertion with all of its appendages still folded. This was published in a booklet on the 75th anniversary of KB Arsenal that was available on the company's website for a couple of days and then taken offline. Which makes you wonder why they put it online in the first place.

B. Hendrickx · « **Reply #44 on:** 11/10/2022 01:16 pm »

https://tass.ru/kosmos/16286365

Quoting a space industry source, TASS reported today that Pion-NKS has been officially declared operational following in-orbit tests that received high praise from both the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Navy. The report says that the full Liana constellation, consisting of four Lotos-S1 and two Pion-NKS satellites, should be deployed "in the near future". However, it adds that the production of the second Pion satellite is only "being discussed", suggesting that no final decision has yet been made to construct it. Given the long production times seen in the Russian space industry these days, it is unlikely it will be ready before the first Pion is taken out of service. The first Pion itself was launched after many years of delays.